Conversation

my general sense from my general reading/thinking is that the main reason people get married less is that they're wealthier marriage is fundamentally an economic institution I've been thinking a bit more lately too about church-as-a-social-institution

Quote Tweet

Simon Kuestenmacher

@simongerman600

Nov 29, 2018

That's what social change looks like. In 2016 only half of the US population over 18 was married. Two years later this rate almost certainly fell below 50%. Reasons are delay of marriage as people stay in education longer and falling religiosity. Source: pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017

Replying to

hmmm. I think you're next to it. But I don't think this is "it".

Replying to

and

I think a key issue is that many of the wealth benefits of getting married have disappeared, or eroded, as a function of changing social norms. I.e. yes people often married for wealth historically, and in many times and places *only* for wealth, but now it's EXPENSIVE.

Visa’s Vexing Vacillations

@visakanv

Nov 29, 2018

Replying to

@Triquetrea

oh yeah this is the more precise take. they're comparatively wealthier because the wealth-benefit of marriage has diminished and the wealth-cost of marriage has increased, probably even if we semi-ignore the smartphone variable

Replying to

I'd put it more bluntly: people don't believe the opportunity cost is worth it. They're often right, IME.

Visa’s Vexing Vacillations

@visakanv

Nov 29, 2018

Replying to

@Triquetrea

that could be made a bit more precise to be a bit more accurate – people being sufficiently uncertain about the opportunity cost should be enough to deter them and explain the trend

Replying to

Yeah, it's a weird situation. I'm married, but few-to-none of my non-Polish friends are. Locally, it seems a function of peer pressure and a shitty economy fronting reliance on unscrupulous families ("get married, or else"). Not why I got married, but most married ppl I know...

Replying to

and

But this feels like a highly specific local norm, product of how regressively traditionalist old people are around here. Divorce rates being lower is mostly a function of draconian legal requirements, IMO. Don't see too much of this attitude in (conventionally) western Europe.

3:29 PM · Nov 29, 2018Twitter Web Client

Visa’s Vexing Vacillations

@visakanv

Nov 29, 2018

Replying to

@Triquetrea

the interesting thing here is that 'local norms' are themselves kind of a related thing to this discussion? in the economy-geography sense. people move to big/foreign cities to leave oppressive families, etc

Replying to

Yeah. The Polish diaspora dwarfs the local population. Pretty sure this is a trend in countries that suck, when there aren't sufficient barriers to emigrating. I suspect English racism towards Poles, which is very new, is just the same as e.g. old US racism vs. 'talians/Irish.